OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: More than 3,200 illegal Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday during the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av, according to the Jerusalem Governorate, which accused Israeli authorities of facilitating the large-scale incursion.
In a statement, the governorate said Israeli police increased the size of visiting groups to around 150 people at a time while imposing strict restrictions on Palestinian access to the mosque and the surrounding Old City. Security forces were deployed heavily across the compound and prevented many Palestinian worshippers from entering.
Israeli occupation forces imposed strict measures at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, while preventing dozens of worshippers from entering to perform the noon prayer. pic.twitter.com/KGwnJOxia6
— Jerusalem Governorate محافظة القدس الشريف (@jerusalemgov) July 23, 2026
The statement said only a limited number of Palestinians were able to reach the mosque for dawn prayers before Israeli forces dispersed and assaulted several worshippers and local residents.
Israeli visitors performed religious rituals
According to the governorate, some Israeli visitors performed religious rituals inside the compound, including wearing tefillin, carrying out prostrations in the eastern section of the site, and chanting religious slogans.
The Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem said 3,228 Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the morning incursions alone, under heavy protection from Israeli occupation forces. pic.twitter.com/3lgOpy3eeB
— Jerusalem Governorate محافظة القدس الشريف (@jerusalemgov) July 23, 2026
It also said that groups advocating the construction of a Jewish temple at the site had mobilised supporters with the aim of bringing up to 5,000 visitors to the compound during the day.
The governorate strongly condemned the visit by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, describing it as a “dangerous escalation” and a violation of the site’s long-standing historical and legal status quo.
It said the minister’s presence, alongside visits by groups promoting changes to the site, reflected an official endorsement of actions previously associated with extremist organisations.
The statement warned that continued actions at the site could heighten regional tensions and called on the international community and relevant institutions to intervene to preserve the existing status quo.
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It reiterated that the entire 144-dunam (35.6-acre) Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is an Islamic place of worship and rejected any measures aimed at altering its identity or legal status.
Likud Knesset member Amit Halevi stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, participated in Talmudic rituals inside its courtyards, and raised the Israeli flag during the incursion, in a move seen as violating the mosque’s longstanding historical and legal status quo. pic.twitter.com/WKVyOBBQ3F
— Jerusalem Governorate محافظة القدس الشريف (@jerusalemgov) July 23, 2026
Israeli lawmaker Amit Halevi of the Likud party also visited the compound on Thursday.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam’s third-holiest site. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount and regard it as the location of the First and Second Temples in ancient times.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City and the Al-Aqsa compound, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and later annexed the area in 1980, a move that has not been recognised by the international community.
